Sentencing Act 2002

Sentences, orders, and related matters - Imprisonment - Additional consequences for certain repeated offending

86L: Warnings: subsequent warning to be given if qualifying sentence imposed for stage-2 offence or stage-3 offence

You could also call this:

"The court must warn you about possible consequences if you get a special sentence for a serious offence."

If a court gives you a special sentence for a stage-2 or stage-3 offence, and you are in court when this happens, the court must warn you. The court will tell you what might happen if you get another special sentence for a similar offence in the future. The court will also make a note in your court record that you have been warned.

If you appear in court under section 86M(2) or (6) for a stage-2 or stage-3 offence, the court must also warn you. The court will warn you about the possible consequences of getting another special sentence. The court will make a note in your record that you have been warned.

After the court makes this note, you will have a record of a warning for that offence, unless section 86U(2) says otherwise. This warning is important because it tells you what might happen if you commit another offence. The court must follow these rules when giving you a special sentence.

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This page was last updated on 26 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1448076.

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86KA: Warnings: first warning to be given if sentence of imprisonment of between 12 and 24 months imposed for stage-2 offence, or

"If you get a 1-2 year prison sentence for a serious offence, the court must warn you about what might happen if you break the law again."

86M: Warnings: administration, or

"Getting a warning when you're sentenced for doing something wrong"

Part 2Sentences, orders, and related matters
Imprisonment: Additional consequences for certain repeated offending

86LWarnings: subsequent warning to be given if qualifying sentence imposed for stage-2 offence or stage-3 offence

This section applies if—
a court imposes a qualifying sentence on an offender for a stage-2 offence or a stage-3 offence (including on an appeal, but only if the offender does not have a record of subsequent warning in relation to the offence); and
the offender is before the court when it imposes the sentence.

This section also applies if an offender appears before a court under section 86M(2) or (6) in relation to—
a stage-2 offence for which a qualifying sentence has been imposed on the offender; or
a stage-3 offence.

The court must—
warn the offender of the possible consequences if the offender receives a further qualifying sentence for any qualifying offence committed after that warning (whether or not that further qualifying offence is different in kind from any qualifying offence for which a sentence of imprisonment is being, or has been, imposed on the offender); and
make an entry in the permanent court record, in relation to the stage-2 offence or the stage-3 offence, to the effect that the offender has been warned under paragraph (a).

On and after the making of the entry under subsection (3)(b), the offender has, in relation to the stage-2 offence or the stage-3 offence, a record of subsequent warning (subject to section 86U(2)).

Notes

Section 86L: inserted, on 17 June 2025, by section 7 of the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 54).